Dead Weight PC (v1.0.1.10)

Explore a steampunk world of Dead Weight. Explore floating islands in search of loot. Choose a class and enjoy turn-based tactical combat on tiny battlefields where every step matters. A marvelous steampunk adventure awaits you in the roguelite world of Dead Weight. Board a flying ship, stock up on fuel, hire a trusty crew, and get ready to explore dangerous islands and fight the Ancient Gods in turn-based combat. Unlock new skills, characters, get stronger, and uncover the darkest secrets of this world. The art is awesome, and the combat has potential. However, Dead Weight is incredibly inconsistent when it comes to conveying information and its user interface.

One skill consumes an action point while another doesn’t. Is that stated anywhere? No. A barrel has 1 durability, so damaging it breaks it. A piece of ice also has 1 durability, so damaging it…does nothing? Two items are equipped in the accessory slot. One is labeled as “consumable” while the other isn’t, yet both are consumed upon use. What the hell, devs? Another example: a skill says it “shoots over obstacles,” yet it can’t shoot over one pitfall, but after moving, it suddenly can shoot over a different pitfall. This kind of inconsistency is everywhere. Then there’s a blue square with an arrow on the battlefield. What does it do?

There’s no tooltip, no popup, nothing when hovering or clicking it. Even after stepping on it, there’s no obvious effect—or at least nothing noticeable. In highly tactical games like this, it’s incredibly important to present information clearly and consistently in Dead Weight. When players have to blindly experiment just to understand basic mechanics, that’s poor design for the genre. It’s even worse when the same mechanics behave differently from one situation to the next. Devs, there’s clearly a lot of effort here, and the foundation of a good game is present, but this is easily one of the worst UX experiences in a strategy game.

That said, Dead Weight itself is very good. It’s a roguelite with XCOM/Into the Breach-style combat, combined with RPG progression through gear and leveling up heroes. Players fly a ship around picking fights with pirates, though that aspect becomes fairly trivial after unlocking a few meta-upgrades. The playable heroes feel very distinct, and their abilities evolve significantly over the course of a run. The only real drawback beyond the UI is that battles can become visually cluttered. It takes a while to figure out which enemy is using which attack when multiple indicators overlap on the same tiles. Thankfully, it becomes easier to read with experience.